Freemasonry has been established in Gibraltar since at
least 1727 when a number of military Brethren congregated to form the first
Masonic Lodge in the Garrison. The earliest recorded evidence of their Masonic
activities can be traced to the Grand Lodge Minutes for the 10th May 1727 which
records:

‘His Grace the Duke of Richmond proposed health and success
to our brethren of the lodge of Gibraltar, which was drank accordingly.’

Accordingly we can confidently claim that in Gibraltar at
least no other institution can boast a more solid or historic foundation than
our own. To put this into perspective, the Casino Calpe that claims to be
Gibraltar's oldest club founded as recently as 1853, 126 years after our own
Order had been established on the Rock. In that time, and we are talking about
well over 280 years of history, Freemasonry has seen many changes from a
predominantly military character to the civil one we enjoy today, it has enjoyed
periods of huge popularity and has gritted its teeth through the lean times of
wavering support, but above all it has become through almost three centuries of
continued and uninterrupted existence an integral part of the social fabric of
our small, tight-knit community. In this short history I want to share some
interesting anecdotes that has shaped our Masonic history and made us what we
are today, a band of brothers, linked through the chain of continuity through
almost 300 years of history.

The first lodge established in Gibraltar was
the Lodge of St. John No. 51 in the register of the Grand Lodge of England.
Gibraltar at the time had been effectively under siege when the lodge was formed
and the evidence suggests that although the Brethren applied to the Grand Lodge
of England for a warrant, it was in fact composed by Brethren of different
Masonic allegiances, particularly Masons from Ireland. Names such as Cunningham,
Mulligan, Kennedy and Cockayne is evidence enough that the ‘Mother Lodge’ of St.
John as it became affectionately known was a cosmopolitan lodge of Officers and
men serving in the Garrison. St. John became the first known lodge to have
worked outside the British Isles, however, due to the difficulties of
communications as a result of the siege the lodge did not receive its official
warrant until 1728 by which time the Three Fleur de Luces Lodge No. 50, in
Madrid, founded by the Jacobite Duke of Wharton on the 15th February 1728 had
already submitted and received approval of their own petition and therefore have
been credited with this distinction. There is however absolutely no disputing
the fact that the first Provincial Grand Master outside the British Isles was
granted to Gibraltar also in 1727.

The great schism of 1751 resulted in the
formation of a new Grand Lodge whose members called themselves ‘Antients’
claiming that the premier Grand Lodge or ‘Moderns’ had departed from the
‘Antient Landmarks of the Order’ whereas they, by virtue of practicing masonry
according to the ‘Antient Constitutions’ maintained the principles and tenets of
the Craft without deviation as contained in the ‘Antient Charges’. By warranting
traveling Lodges to Regiments in the British Army and Provincial Grand Lodges in
the Colonies, with authority to constitute new lodges locally, the ‘Ancients’
did much to spread English Masonry abroad. It was this spread that became
instrumental in the diffusion of the active Masonic principles of Brotherly
love, relief and truth amongst men of different countries, colour and religious
or political persuasions. Many stories of Masonic assistance to a Brother in
need became well known and celebrated as Masonic legends. The following anecdote
from the History of the Lodge Falkirk No. 16, now the St. John’s Lodge No. 16
S.C is well worth including for it contains particular references to Gibraltar:

‘Mr. Dickson, a member of some of the lodges in Scotland,
was sailing from Gibraltar to some port in Italy. During his voyage he had the
misfortune to be in danger of shipwreck from a storm which over took him, which
obliged him to run his ship ashore on the Spanish shore, under the walls of
Terragona. Mr. Dickson and his crew were seized as King’s prisoners, and carried
before the Governor of the place, Don Antonio de Pizarro, who treated them with
the upmost humanity. He expressed a great deal of anxiety for Mr. Dickson, as he
would be under the necessity of sending him and his crew to Cadiz, where he
could not say how long they would remain, as there was no cartel betwixt Britain
and Spain. After they had conversed a while, Don Antonio inquired at Mr. Dickson
for several persons at Gibraltar whom he knew were Masons, which made him
conjecture that Don Antonio himself was a Mason. Mr. Dickson gave him a sign,
which Don Antonio returned, who afterwards treated him and his crew with the
greatest affection, and he gave Don Antonio no small pleasure to find it was in
his power to relieve a distressed Brother. He gave orders so that nothing might
impede Mr. Dickson’s journey, whom, because of his being a Brother, he gave
liberty with his crew to return to Gibraltar, and supplied him with all the
necessaries for the journey. When he arrived at Gibraltar he informed the
Governor of what had happened, who was so charmed with the story that he sent
back sixteen Spaniards to Don Antonio, and the same night he was made a Mason.
Mr. Dickson wrote home on account of the whole affair to the Grand Master of
Scotland, who has with his own hand wrote a letter of thanks to Don Antonio, and
ordered the story to be recorded in the books of the Grand Lodge. As this
generous conduct of Don Antonio de Pizarro does honour to Masonry, the Grand
Master has ordered Don Antonio to be assumed as a nominal member of all the
regular lodges in Scotland.

‘The lodge having considered the above affair, unanimously
consented to the same, and Don Antonio was accordingly enrolled a member of the
lodge of Falkrik.’

Unfortunately, not all anecdotes recorded in
the history of Freemasonry in Gibraltar credit the Craft with similar
principles. In 1767 members of the 2nd Battalion Royal Artillery constituted a
Lodge in Perth, Scotland. This Lodge had been granted a Travelling Warrant by
John, 3rd Duke of Atholl who was then Grand Master of the ‘Ancients’. The
arrival of an ‘Antient’ lodge in Gibraltar was not received too well by the
other two locally constituted Lodges, who worked under the ‘Moderns’, that is
“Mother Lodge” and the Lodge of Inhabitants (not our present Inhabitant’s Lodge
but one much older). The situation escalated when these two Lodges attempted to
exclude No. 148 from taking part in the customary public procession on St.
John’s day on the 27th December 1773 on account of this Lodge working under a
‘spurious’ warrant. It was on this occasion the Brethren of four Irish military
lodges who came to the assistance of the discriminated members of No. 148.
Captain Murray R.N, a senior Irish mason was also instrumental in convincing the
Governor of Gibraltar, the Hon. Edward Cornwallis of the authenticity of the
said Warrant. In the end No. 148 was permitted to take its rightful place in the
traditional Masonic procession. In time both ‘Mother Lodge’ and the Lodge of
Inhabitants ceased to exist and were eventually erased, No. 148 however would
evolve into our present Lodge of St. John No. 115, replacing ‘Mother Lodge’ as
the most senior Lodge in Gibraltar.

War always throws up interesting anecdotes and
the Great Siege of Gibraltar was no exception. Curiously a the time the Great
Siege began, the Brethren of No. 148, all artillery men, were actually in the
middle of a Masonic meeting. The Lodge was hurriedly called from labour to
refreshment to man the guns and it was not until early in 1783 that the Brethren
again assembled and were called from refreshment to labour. The Lodge was then
closed in due and ancient form after three and a half years, a truly Masonic
record! It is also recorded that the refreshments afterwards consisted of bread,
cheese and beer! However, not all Masonic activities were suspended on the Rock,
the Minutes of the Inhabitants Lodge which at the time was known as Ordnance
Lodge No. 202 continued to meet throughout the siege despite the difficult
conditions as is evident from entries in the minutes. The entry for the 15th
December, 1780 records:

‘Brother Robert Young being found worthy of more wages was
raised accordingly, the Lodge communicated a short lecture, as the precarious
state of the Garrison did not allow for the usual formalities.’

By the end of the Great Siege in 1783 there
were no less than fourteen lodges of various Constitutions working in Gibraltar.
These consisted of two Modern lodges, five Antients, six Irish and one Scottish
lodge. Of particular interest is the formation of a Hannoverian Lodge (Reden’s
Regiment) from serving Hanoverian military members of Ordnance Lodge No. 202
(Inhabitant’s No. 153). Robert Freke Gould Lodge is therefore the second
daughter lodge that evolved from Inhabitant’s and not the first as many believe,
but time does not permit for more elucidation this evening.

We now move into the 19th Century and in
particular to 1813 and the formation of the United Grand Lodge of England after
the amalgamation of the ‘Antients’ and ‘Modern’ Grand Lodges. All lodges were
required to apply for a Union number in the new United Grand Lodge and this
resulted in a frenzied scramble to prove, even by dubious means, the
authenticity and seniority of the particular lodges. In England for example
warrants were bought and sold and lodges amalgamated simply to obtain a lower,
and hence a more prestigious number and position in the roll of registered
lodges. In Gibraltar, Artillery Lodge No. 148 adopted the name St. John as the
most senior Lodge after the demise of the original ‘Mother Lodge’, Ordnance
Lodge No. 202 adopted the name Inhabitants after another defunct Lodge
constituted in 1762 and Friendship amalgamated with Calpean Lodge, using the
name Friendship but working under the name and number of the older lodge. These
changes have caused a lot of confusion in the history of the various lodges in
particular Inhabitants who as a result lost their original warrant for many
years and only through a stroke of luck found the original many years later as
we will see later.

The relationship of the Craft and the local
Catholic Church had always been cordial, not least due to the fact that many
prominent Catholics and benefactors were also Freemasons. This all changed with
the appointment of first Roman Catholic Bishop, the Rt. Reverend Henry Hughes.
It was to be the death of the local Lodges’ Tyler Giacomo Celecia, a member of
Calpe Lodge No. 325, on the 26th August 1840 that sparked the first action by
the Catholic Church in Gibraltar against Freemasons. The controversy broke out
when a Masonic emblem (square and compass) was found on the exterior of the
coffin, the officiating priest immediately retired and refused to proceed with
the internment. When Bishop Hughes was informed of the occurrence he desired the
emblems of Masonry to be effaced, which was instantly compiled with. He then
made further objections, and at length refused positively to give the body
Christian burial because it was the body of a Freemason. For three days his body
laid in the Church of St. Mary the Crowned whilst a frantic solution was
negotiated but to no avail, Bishop Hughes remained defiant and uncompromising.
In the end the body was buried thanks to the intervention the Provincial Grand
Master of Gibraltar the Rev. Dr. Burrows who was also Bishop of the Anglican
Church. The Lodge of Friendship would later vote a pair of candelabra to the
Provincial Grand Master in thanks for having assisted in the burial of Brother
Celecia after his own Church had refused him Christian burial. The Bishop’s
reign as Head of the Apostolic Church in Gibraltar was always plagued with
controversy especially with his uncompromising methods used in relation to the
administration of Church finances and running of local schools. He was even
imprisoned briefly for contempt of Court. However, the damage as far as the
relationship between the Church and Fraternity on the Rock had been done and has
still not healed fully.

In 1858 the moribund Inhabitants Lodge was
revived by two men, Lt. Robert Freke Gould and Sergeant Francis George Irwin.
Both men would enjoy a long and illustrious Masonic career, however Irwin who
succeeded Gould as Worshipful Master set about to sort out the papers of the
lodge and made a startling discovery. Informing WBro. W.G. Clarke D.G. Sec of
his find he wrote:

I felt much surprised on making a careful examination of
the nearly obliterated Warrant of 178 to find it named the Ordnance Lodge, on
searching amongst the rubbish I discovered the real Warrant, much to the
surprise of the oldest member of the Inhabitants’ those who were members in
1828, worked on the Warrant we are now using without having discovered this
mistake – I enclose copies of each, and send for further instructions.

Yours respectfully

F.G Irwin

WM Inhabitants’ Lodge

9th August 1859

Irwin never realized it at the time, but he had
in fact discovered the original Warrant of the Lodge of Inhabitants’ constituted
in 1763 under the authority of the Modern’s Grand Lodge. Irwin however was to
further confuse the issue by adopting his newly discovered Warrant as the real
Warrant of the Lodge and retaining the other, that of Ordnance as his own
personal property, believing it to be no more than a Masonic antiquity of a
previously lapsed military Lodge in the Garrison. When he left the Rock a few
years later, he took the Ordnance Warrant with him. As a result the Lodges’ most
valuable treasure remained lost for a quarter of a century. In the interim, the
Inhabitants Lodge and applied for and obtained on the 1st October a Centenary
Warrant and special jewel much to the surprise if not a little consternation
from the members of St. John No. 132, who quite rightly disputed the legality of
the said Warrant. The matter was referred to the District Grand Lodge for
arbitration and from there to Grand Lodge who finally issued Inhabitants with a
copy of the original warrant. It was only through a stroke of good fortune that
the original warrant was re-discovered.

It was the newly appointed District Grand
Master, Sir Henry Burford-Hancock a subscribing member of the elite Quator
Coronati Lodge No. 2076 and a close friend of the Masonic historian James Hughan
that led to the discovery of the missing warrant. According to the minutes of
the Inhabitants Lodge the discovery originated when Bro. Hughan visited his
friend and fellow Quator Coronati Brother Major Irwin P.M of 153 at his Bristol
residence in September 1885, it was there whilst perusing through the personal
library of Bro. Irwin that he made a startling discovery, finding the long lost
Warrant of the Inhabitants’ Lodge amongst a collection of old Masonic papers. On
being informed of the significance of the discovery Bro. Irwin had no hesitation
in entrusting the priceless Warrant into the hands of Bro. Hughan, who wasted no
time in communicating the same to his old friend Sir Henry Burford-Hancock the
District Grand Master of Gibraltar. At an emergency meeting arranged for Friday
4th December1885 that the warrant was finally returned by Sir Henry Burford-Hancock
to a very grateful lodge.

In 1882 another Masonic schism threatened the
Rock when the number of competing jurisdictions in the Sultanate of Morocco was
increased by the establishment of a Lodge under the authority of the Grand Lodge
of Manitobia (Canada). The “Special Deputy” entrusted with a warrant for the
formation of the Lodge in Tangiers granted the founders permission to assemble
temporarily in Gibraltar. This action almost immediately brought the new Lodge
in direct confrontation with the District Grand Lodge of Gibraltar and the other
Lodges in its sister Constitutions. The District Grand Lodge of Gibraltar was
successful in opposing the establishment of the Tangier Lodge within its
jurisdiction and the Lodge was subsequently removed to San Roque, Andalusia
before transferring to Tangiers. The Tangier Lodge therefore not receiving any
official support from the English Constitution it was left up to the Brethren
from the Scottish Constitution in the St. Thomas Lodge to support the fledgling
and apparently struggling Lodge. Less than a year later the Tangier Lodge
surrendered its Warrant issued by the distant Grand Lodge of Manitobia and took
out a new one under the authority of the Grand Lodge of Scotland as Lodge Al
Mogreb Al Aksa No. 670 S.C. The establishment of a second Scottish Lodge in
Gibraltar made possible the appointment in 1884 of Bro. Thomas Joseph Haynes,
the founder of St. Thomas Lodge as the first Provincial Grand Master of the
Scottish Constitution in Gibraltar.

We now move on to the 20th Century and another
anecdote of particular interest to members of St. John No. 115. In 1936 Spain
was plunged into Civil War. Throughout the period of conflict, Gibraltar
observed strict neutrality as dictated by British Foreign Policy of
non-intervention in the Spanish conflict. Local freemasons particularly the
members of the Lodge of St. John No. 115, once again took on the role of
fraternal custodian, lifesaver, protecting and aiding by all possible means the
‘Sons of the Widow’ [Freemasons] of the Campo Lodges. The emblematic phoenix
identified with the Lodge of St. John once again symbolized hope, a flicker of
light amidst a sea of darkness, which had once again descended on the Iberian
Peninsular. The assistance, however general that was offered by local
Freemasons to their Spanish counterparts became a source of increasing worry to
the District Grand Master Lt. Col. Ellis who saw the political implications of
any such assistance as contrary to the directives from Grand Lodge. He had
already reminded the Brethren of the District as early as 1936 ‘to observe the
Constitutions very strictly in regards to visitors and members, particularly in
the present time.’ The Lodge of St. John however, continued to maintain
fraternal contact with Spanish Masons exiled on the Rock and in 1944 the members
were stunned to find that their Lodge’s privilege of conducting the business of
the Lodge in Spanish, historically maintained since 1827 was withdrawn by order
of the Grand Master. The decision of the Grand Master to withdraw this privilege
has never been explained but it does appear that the Grand Master acted on the
advice of the District Grand Master, Lt. Col. Ellis who constantly advocated
against Masonic interaction with Masonic Bodies from the unrecognized Spanish
Constitutions. The membership of the Lodge of St. John resorted to a silent but
dignified protest against the perceived injustice to their treasured privilege.
As an act of defiance the Lodge henceforth refused to comply with the new
instructions by not initiating any new members to the Lodge, thereby not having
to act in accordance with the directive either. No degree was conferred on any
candidate for the next twelve years, the Officers and members of the Lodge
assembling only for the purpose of fulfilling their obligation of opening and
closing the Lodge during their monthly regular meetings. Despite a worrying
decline in membership to the Lodge the Brethren remained firm on their
convictions and persisted in their resolute stand until the privilege was
restored in 1956 on the advice of the then Deputy District Grand Master Anthony
Mena, member of St. John. Ironically Mena had been a very senior member of the
Grand Lodge of Spain before the Civil War; he would succeed Ellis as District
Grand Master of Gibraltar four years later.

The last anecdote worthy of mention occurred
not in Gibraltar but in Morocco soon after it gained its independence from
France in the mid 1950’s. The new Moroccan authorities suspicious of all Western
influences refused to recognize Freemasonry in that country and both New
Friendship Lodge No. 4997 and Coronation Lodge No. 934 Scottish Constitution
were forced into temporary dormancy until arrangements could be made to transfer
the Lodges to Gibraltar once again. Lodge No. 4997 was revived and renamed
‘Gibraltar Lodge’ at the same evening it was proposed and agreed to transfer the
lodge to London where it still works and bears that name today. The Gibraltar
Lodge No. 4997 became a popular choice for Gibraltarian Freemasons residing in
London and their regular meetings were still included in our G.M.I Masonic Lodge
Calendar well into the late 1990’s as I am sure many of you may well remember.
The successful revival of the New Friendship Lodge in Gibraltar probably
inspired the Scottish District Grand Lodge of Gibraltar to attempt a similar
transfer of the Coronation Lodge Charter to Gibraltar. On the 20th September
1964, the Grand Lodge of Scotland agreed to the request and authorized the
transfer. In February 1965, Coronation Lodge held its first Installation
Ceremony with Bro. Anthony J. Segui becoming the first Master of the Lodge in
Gibraltar. For the next twelve years Coronation Lodge did not initiate any
candidates in order not to compete with the other two Sister Lodges of the
Scottish Constitution. It would not be until the 25th March 1977 that Bro. Mario
Chipolina Master of the Lodge initiated the first local candidate Joseph Louis
‘Tich’ Olivero and Coronation once again became a full working Lodge.

As you can see Brethren, the history of
Freemasonry in Gibraltar is long and colourful. It has had an illustrious
history that would be regarded with envy by many other Masonic jurisdictions
anywhere in the world. It has survived internal schisms, wars, epidemics and
even social and religious intolerance at various periods of its existence.
However, it has survived them all, and despite what we may think or say today,
it continues to thrive. We have more Lodges, Chapters and other Side Degrees
than at any other time in our history. We have three strong and ably led
Districts and Inspectorate and still maintain the calibre of men with the
determination, ability and confidence to steer Freemasonry well into the future.
I am sure Brethren, that they will be many more anecdotes and events of
interests still to record for posterity.